2017.08.06                                 JOHN 14: 15- 31

                   I will not leave you Orphans

                The Promise of the Holy Spirit

                                      Part 2

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus…

Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God… Jesus has been warning the Disciples of the very difficult hard times that are coming... Jesus is spending His last day…. His last evening… With His disciples… It is a very intense time…

What is going on here? This is the last time that Jesus is with the disciples before being arrested and going to the cross… Jesus is speaking to the hearts of the disciples…   He is preparing and comforting them…  

Their world is going to be shaken apart…

 We are down to the wire now… Because of His unfailing love… Jesus is warning the disciples of the desperate hard times that will burst into their lives in just a few hours now… He is offering the disciples comfort from their fear and anxiety…

Jesus is speaking to the hearts of the disciples…

1 Jesus is Warning them… He has told them over and over that he is going to the cross… They will be scattered…. They will run away… Peter will even deny Him…

2 Jesus is calling them to follow His example… He is calling them to loving obedience…

3 Jesus is comforting Them… He is promising the Holy Spirit to come along side of them to help and comfort them moment by moment and day by day… He is saying… I will never leave you and I will never forsake you…  This section is very Theological… We are learning about the work and ministry of the HS in these verses…. But it is also very practical… Because His Word and His promises… Will be used by the Holy Spirit to comfort and encourage us… No matter what happens in our lives… 

look with me at John 14… beginning at v15…

John 14: 15- 24                         NLT   Neues Leben

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.

v15… If you love me… Keep my Commandments

v16… another helper… He will be with you forever…

v17… The Spirit of truth… you know Him… He is with you and He will be in you…

v18… These Disciples are very confused and afraid… They need comfort and encouragement because Jesus is going away… He promises that He will not abandon them as if they were orphans…

v19… Soon The world will see me no more… But you will!... I will rise from the dead…

v20… Then you will know… After my Resurrection… You will be totally assured of all that I have told you… And because of my death and resurrection… You will live also…

v21… Then again in Jesus says… Love me and obey me… In fact 4 times in this chapter… Jesus says… Love and Obey me… v15,v21,v23,v24… Now Jesus knows that every one of them is going to fail to love and obey him this very night… What does this mean? I think it means at least two things… But First let me talk about what it does not mean… It does not mean that our Love for Jesus will be measured by the level of our obedience… Jesus is saying that our obedience should flow out of our love for him… It is not that we loved God…. But that He first loved us… 1 John 4:10-19… He is also saying that without the active work of the HS we will fail to love and obey Him… After the Resurrection of Jesus…. The HS which has been with us…. Will be in us as a continuous and abiding presence… Transforming us day by day… This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36: 27… It is the promise of the new birth… We would never Love or obey God unless He had begun this work in us…. And In fact… We will never love or Obey Jesus perfectly until our transformation into His image is complete… That will be when we see Jesus face to face… 1 Cor 13:11,12…

Here is what I believe he is saying…

1 Jesus is saying that our obedience will flow out of grateful and thankful hearts as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him… Since we cannot do this for ourselves…

2 The Holy Spirit will continue the transformation that began when we were born again by the Spirit of God at our conversion…

Paul wrote wonderfully about this miracle of growing in grace… In his letter to the Philippians he said… He who began a good work in you… ch 1v6…  This is the Sanctification process that he has already began in us… It will produce growing trust and love for the Lord Jesus… Which will produce increasing knowledge and discernment… And we will be filled with the fruits of Righteousness… All to and for the Glory and Praise of God… Phil 1: 3-11… That is the summary… We will read it later if we have time…

look with me at v23,24…

v24… Remember everything that I tell you comes from the Father… They are not merely my words… We see echos of the Trinity in these verses as the Holy Spirit is promised… next section… v25-31…

John 14: 25-31                     NKJV   slt 2000

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. 29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

look with me at v26… This is  very important… Jesus is going away…. He has promised that He will not abandon them as orphans… He is promising the Holy Spirit… He is being sent by the Father in place of Jesus… The greek word is “Paraclete” It can be translated as advocate… as counselor and as comforter… The Holy Spirit is The advocate… The Comforter… He is saying… You guys are works in progress… You will all abandon me tonight…. But I will not abandon you… Until now… I have been your teacher… I am going away and The Father is sending the Holy Spirit in my place… Jesus is beginning to teach them about the ministry of the Holy Spirit…  

Look at v26a…

v26a… But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” v26a… He will teach you all things… The HS will continue to teach you and help you…Through the coming active work of the Holy Spirit in their lives… Jesus Himself is promising to continue to be there for them… He is comforting them by sending “The Comforter” to them to take His Place as Teacher… That is the first thing…. Then… Look at v26b… scroll down…

v26b… and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Here… Jesus is not only promising that they will understand through the Ministry of the HS… He is also promising them the Inspiration and direction of the HS as they recall and record all that Jesus Began to say and do…

In this promise we understand that Jesus Himself promised the inspiration of the New Testament… It will be accomplished by the Holy Spirit´s work in their hearts and minds… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17… Paul and all of the Apostles understood this… Look with me at 1 Corinthians 2:12,13…

1 Corinthians 2: 12,13                    NKJV   slt 2000

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

12 Wir aber haben nicht den Geist der Welt empfangen, sondern den Geist, der aus Gott ist, sodass wir wissen können, was uns von Gott geschenkt ist; 13 und davon reden wir auch, nicht in Worten, die von menschlicher Weisheit gelehrt sind, sondern in solchen, die vom Heiligen Geist gelehrt sind, indem wir Geistliches geistlich erklären.

Paul in this ch is saying these things that we teach are from the Holy Spirit… Through the Holy Spirit… We have the mind of Christ…v16… That’s what Jesus promised… The Father will send the Holy Spirit… He will bring to your memory what he wants the church to know…   They were eyewitnesses… He will help them to remember and record everything that God wants them to… back to John 14 Ch 14…v26… scroll down please…

v26a… He will teach you all things” What things?... Everything necessary to give a true account of what Jesus said and did… And to reveal exactly who He is…

This is exactly what is happening in John´s Gospel… Years later John is remembering and recording the Words of Life and the miracles that Jesus did… He is teaching new generations of Genuine believers... And he is doing it so that we will believe that Jesus is the Christ…. And so that believing… we will have Life through Him…  John 20:31…

Now look with me at verses 27–29… Jesus is not only promising the Holy Spirit… He is giving them powerful words of encouragement… He is promising to replace their fear and anxiety with His peace… He is promising to replace their growing sorrow with His Joy… And of course… The goal is to replace their faithlessness with a strong and deeply rooted faith and trust and hope in Him… verse 27…

v27… “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Jesus is saying I got this… It will be very hard for you… But there will be no disasters tonight…. I lay down my life so that I can take it up again… John 10:18… Jesus is not focused on Himself and the terrible pain that awaits Him… He has the deepest needs of our hearts in view… He wants his disciples and all of us…  to be free from fear and anxiety… No matter what happens to us or our loved ones…

 Look at the middle of verse 27… “Not as the world gives do I give to you.”

His peace is not based on our circumstances… Look ahead with me at John 16: 33…

John 16: 33                                    NKJV   slt 2000

33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

33 Dies habe ich zu euch geredet, damit ihr in mir Frieden habt. In der Welt habt ihr Bedrängnis; aber seid getrost, ich habe die Welt überwunden!

Jesus is saying…. Look I know that it will not be easy…You will indeed have tribulation…. But don´t be afraid… I have overcome the world… Our peace in the middle of disaster will make no sense to the world...  Look with me at  Philippians 4: 6,7…

Philippians 4: 6,7          NKJV slt 2000

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

6 Sorgt euch um nichts; sondern in allem lasst durch Gebet und Flehen mit Danksagung eure Anliegen vor Gott kundwerden. 7 Und der Friede Gottes, der allen Verstand übersteigt, wird eure Herzen und eure Gedanken bewahren in Christus Jesus!

Paul says… Don´t worry about anything… Pray about everything… Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding… We protect and keep your hearts and minds… Human understanding cannot produce it…   It is God’s peace… It is ours because we are in Christ…

 Back to John 14…  v 27…

v27a: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” I am sharing with you my peace… I am not afraid…. I do not want you to be afraid at all… I am bringing you into my peace… They are about to kill Him… What kind of peace Does He have?  Perfect peace…  The peace of God the Father Himself… He says…  Tomorrow I will go to the cross…   I will purchase your forgiveness… and I will provide your righteousness… And I will bring you into the very peace that I enjoy with my Father… look with at verse 28…

Verse 28: “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Now He says…. If you really love me you will rejoice with Me… I am going back to the Father…!

V28… “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father”… So our joy is not the joy of the world…. It is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His relationship with the Father…  God give his people joy…  Not as the world gives… He is faithful and full of unfailing… Never going to stop loving you love… Our joy has infinite roots… It is Rooted in the very nature of God…. He is by Nature a Savoir… 1 Timothy 4:10…

 Look with me at John 14…v29…

v29… “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

Jesus has given many prophesies about the events that would occur during His Ministry and arrest and betrayal…

Jesus is pointing to the Sovereign plan of God in every event that unfolds… Jesus is making clear who is in control of every event... It isn’t Pilate… It isn’t Herod... It is not the Jews… It isn’t the soldiers… It isn’t even Satan… My Father is in charge… Acts 4:27-28... And by his command, I am in charge… John 3:35; 13:3... Nobody takes my life from me… I lay it down… John 10:18...

Jesus says…. It is going to get crazy tonight… Trust me… Believe in me… The Father and I are in control… Do not be afraid… Evil does not have the upper hand… My unfailing love will see you through… I will not abandon you as orphans… The holy Spirit will teach you in my place… The work that I have began in you will be completed… You will survive this disastrous night…  And since that was true at history’s darkest hour… It will be true in our darkest hours as well… If we just trust in Him…  The Lord Jesus gave the disciples many promises during this last night with the disciples… We will see more as we continue in Ch 15 and 16…

Today we saw the Promise of His continued presence with them in the Promise of the Holy Spirit…

Questions?

Are we… Am I demonstrating the Peace and joy and trust that the Holy Spirit offers me…? Am I hanging on to Jesus in every storm?... Does the world see the transformed life that Knowing Jesus brings? No so much… Why not…

Is my pride and self-righteousness preventing others from wanting the transformed Life that Jesus has given me..?  Can they even see it? Or does my representation of Jesus stink to them… Not salty and not shining with the Love of Jesus… That is the big question for us today…

Will others see God´s Love and grace in us and flowing out of us… Will others see Jesus in us… Will others see Jesus in Me? Speaking for myself…. Not much to see most days… We need to hide His Word in our hearts… We need to love and care for each other… We need to Abide in Him… That is what we will look at next week… John 15…

The Good news is that we have an Amazing Savior… And we have received a great salvation… We have been born again by the Spirit of God… And He is continuing the work that He has began in us… We can all take great comfort in this truth… He started the work and He will finish it in us…

Let´s pray…

2017.06.11                                          John 13: 21-38

                    Having loved His own…

                                  Part 3

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus…

Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God…

Once again this morning we are studying the Gospel of John… look with me at John 13… beginning at v17…

John 13: 17-20                             NKJV

17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

v17… If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them… Jesus has washed the disciples feet… It is a powerful example of loving  servant leadership… Jesus is saying… I have set this example for you to follow… Love and serve each other…. Do not be proud and stubborn…

 v18b… He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me… Jesus is quoting Psalm 41... look at v19…

v19… "'Now I tell you it before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Jesus knew who would betray Him… The disciples are going to freak out when Judas betrays Him… But Jesus is steadfast and not at all surprised…  It is all part of God´s sovereign plan… He quotes this scripture  to show them, That He is in control of this whole event… Now it is time…  This is the plan…

v20…   he who receives, whomever I send, receives me…

Jesus   is sending them to complete the work that He has begun…   And they will take the Good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth…

John 13: 21-23                        NKJV  slt 2000

21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

v21…  I say to you, one of you will betray me…  

The disciples were now receiving another shock…. One of them would betray Jesus...? Impossible to imagine… But there was more…  Jesus knew that Peter was going to deny him…  He predicted it to his face… But even though he had been warned… When to time came Peter denied Jesus… three times…   Did Jesus know that Judas was going to betray him…?  Yes, he did because He knows everything… He is the Living Word of God…   And Jesus often spoke directly to their unspoken thoughts and intentions…

Jesus Knew every event that was going to happen… He knew who will betray and deny him… But that knowlege did not soften the impact of the events… v21… says his heart was troubled… It's a strong word in the Greek…  [? Torosso ?]… It means to be agitated deeply…

So even though He knew… It bothered him… As God in Human flesh…. Jesus knew pain and sadness just like us…   He relates to our pain and sadness and temptations… This makes Him our perfect High Priest… Hebrews ch 5 and ch 7… Jesus knew who the betrayer was… The disciples wanted to know… According to Matt24… They asked one by one… Is it I Lord… Judas had fooled them all… Peter wants to know…

v23…"there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom he spoke." Now the disciple Jesus loved is John… the writer of the gospel… John is leaning on Jesus… Peter whispers to him… Find out who it is… V24-30…

John 13: 24-30                       NKJV  slt 2000

24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.

It was tradition for the Host to give a morsel of bread dipped in Hummus or whatever it was to the guests… Jesus used it to identify Judas as the rat… The betrayer…  Now John and Peter know that Judas is the betrayer… But the rest of the disciples still had no clue… Even when Judas gets up and leaves… They do not suspect anything wrong… They just thought that he was doing his duty… Immediately He went out… Satan had entered His heart… Look at the last part of v30… And it was night… I think that is significant in this text… Because in John's Gospel… light and darkness are often used symbolically by John… Judas´ heart was now totally black… next section… v31-35…

John 13: 31-35                              NKJV   slt 2000

31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

v31… And when he had gone out, Jesus said, "'now the Son of Man is glorified… And God is glorified in him,' Jesus is speaking of the cross… It is the Divine and perfect plan of redemption… They are both receiving Glory in this miracle of redemption… And God will glorify him immediately…

v33… Little children, I shall be with you a little longer. You will seek me. As I said to the Jews, where I am going you cannot come… Here is another shock for the disciples… They still do not quite understand that in just hours now they will be Temporarily separated from the Lord because of the cross… And while they are trying to process this… He calls them to a higher deeper love for each other…v34,35…

v34,35… And now I say to you a new commandment. I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another… By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.'"

The greek word Jesus used for new here can be translated renewed… It means fresh…   Jesus took a commandment they were very familiar with… He says… I am giving you a refreshed more alive commandment…  Now there's a new standard of love… Love people like I love Them… Like I have loved you…

Love in humility and in gentleness… Love without expecting something in return… Unconditionally… This is the way I have loved you…. You do the same… Demonstrate my love to this lost and dying world… You saw me serve… you serve… 

Well, how did Jesus love? Sacrificially… Unconditionally…

I imagine that almost all of us know verse 35...  By this, by our love, all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another…  We are to be known by our love…  We are to be marked by our love…  And I think that’s true of genuine Christians…  This is really critical…

Jesus says… I'm giving you a renewed commandment… Love others as I have loved you…  God´s Love flowing through us to a lost and dying world… Jesus is saying this is the sign that you belong to me… God´s love in us… It flows out of a forgiven and thankful heart… A heart that has been transformed… What marks a true believer is this transformed heart… A Genuine believer has been born again…   Translated out of the kingdom of sin and darkness into the Kingdom of God´s dear Son… Transformed from the inside…    And if we ask the question… What identifies that transformation?  Then we’re getting to the evidence of who is a true believer…  Genuine believers are known by our character… by our love of the things of God…    In a word… we are known by our love...  Last week was Pentecost… The Holy Spirit is at work in us day by day… Maybe the simplest explanation of how to identify a Christian comes from the Holy Spirit´s work in us… Look with me at Galatians 5: 23-26….

Galatians 5: 22-26                  NKJV   slt 2000

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Paul describes the Fruit of the Spirit here…

 v22… But the fruit of the Spirit is love… This is the evidence of the Spirit’s presence in our lives…  Proof of our transformation and   conversion… This is exactly what we see In God´s promise in Ezekiel ch 36: 25-27… And here Paul says… The fruit of the Spirit is love…  And out of that  love flows joy… peace… gentleness… long suffering… self-control…  These all flow out of God´s love working in us in us…. And flowing out of us to others… It is our love that supports and motivates all those other things…  Jesus told Judas to go and finish the betrayal…  And he did... Jesus is now with the true disciples… And the first thing He does is have a deep and important conversation with them… He speaks directly to the evidence and reality of their salvation… 

Remember all of this flows out of   John ch 13 verse 1… That is where we began this chapter… verse 1 says…   He loved them eis telos… to the limit… to the fullness of divine capacity…     

God´s Love is a love that knows no limits…  He loved His own who were in the world as much as it was possible for the Eternal God to love...   His love is unfailing…  This chapter is one of the most wonderful… unconditional and limitless statements about His love in all of Scripture...

This O.T. commandment to Love God… Was now made stronger than in the law… Because they had seen an example of it that was new…  Love had come to another level with Jesus…  The Son of God washing feet took love to another level…  And now… Jesus  is offering His life as sacrifice for sin… and that is love at the ultimate… Later this very night… As Jesus talks about the need to Abide in His Love… He will repeat this renewed Higher commandment… And He will say…    Greater love has no man than this…. That He lay down His life for His friends… John 15: 13…  

Listen If we are going to help each other do life… If we are going to wash each others feet…  We must do it gently… After all… We all sin… We all go through hard times… We have fears and doubts... we need to counsel and pray each other… We are called to help each other… To provoke one another to love and good works… Hebrews 10: 23-25…

What characterizes our Lord´s interactions with His disciples on this final night before the cross… is His love…

Everything that Jesus expects from us… And all of His promises to us…. Everything flows from Divine love… From the Father and from the Son… Love at work… In us and through us by the Promised Holy Spirit…

John summed it up in his epistle…  We love Him because He first loved us… 1 John 4:19… Amen and amen… back to John 13… look at the last section v36-38…

John 13: 36-38                              NKJV   slt 2000

 36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” 38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.v36… "Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus said, 'where I am going you cannot follow me now. But you will follow me afterward.'

The disciples were very upset to hear Jesus saying that he is being betrayed…. Now He says that He is going away…  They are afraid of what will happen to them when He is gone… They still hope that He will establish His Eternal Kingdom… This is a very difficult night for them…. And soon it will get a lot more difficult in the Garden of Gethsemane… Peter says… 'Lord, why can I not follow you now?'" This is Peter... Jesus says you cannot follow me now…. Peter says why not…? He seems to be coming to grips with Jesus going to the cross and he thinks that he is strong enough to fight for Him…

v37… Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter says… I am with you Lord to the end…  

v38… Jesus answered, 'will you lay down your life for my sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times.'"

Jesus knew Peter was going to fail him… He was not shocked by Peter´s weaknesses… And He is not shocked by our weaknesses and failures either… He knows that like Peter… We will also be restored… Our sin and  failures draw to the Throne of grace… We ask the Lord to forgive us…. And He does… The Love of Jesus is demonstrated in His continuing grace in our lives… As far as Peter is concerned… We have a bit more detail… In Luke's gospel… Look with me at Luke 22 v31-34…

Luke 22: 31-34                       NKJV   slt 2000

31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” 34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Here we see Jesus interceding for Peter… Just as He intercedes for us to this day… Peter declares that He is strong… And that he will go with Him to prison and death… And we know that after he repents… He serves the Lord for the rest of His life… He boldly stood up in the temple and Gave that first Incredible sermon on the day of Pentecost… Acts 2: 22…

 His fear of man was completely gone… He said you killed Him…. But God raised Him from the dead…  And thousands were saved that day… And according to historical sources… Many years later… He did go to prison and he was martyred for the name of Jesus… As genuine believers… We are commanded to love others like The Lord Jesus Christ loved us… And we can do it…

How do I know this? Because Romans 5 says that God has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given… Look with me at Romans 5: 1-5…

Romans 5:1-5               NKJV   slt 2000

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I want us to notice the connections between Faith and Grace and the Glory of God… It produces Hope and the Glory of God… And we discover the wonderful ability to glory in our tribulations… Even in our sufferings we can Praise the Lord… We know that God is using them to continue the process of transforming us in the very image of Jesus… Loving and serving people… That means… when we run out of love and patience for the people in our lives… The Holy Spirit is ready to pour in more of God´s love… And with that Godly love…. We receive all of the Fruits of the Spirit…  This means that as genuine believers… We can share the love of Jesus with a lost and dying world… It means that we can love and care for our friends and families just like Jesus does… Unconditional… Unfailing love…

It seems impossible…. But We can love and serve just like Jesus… Because He is at work in us…  We can love and serve others Even when I don't feel like it…  We do it anyway… With His Eternal Resources…. We can display the fruit of the Spirit… Loving and caring for all the people that the Lord puts in our lives…  And watch how transforming it becomes for you and me… And this kind of Love will transform this Church and this community.. . That's the renewed Higher commandment…  love like I have loved you… Loving to the max of Jesus´ unfailing abitlity… Let´s pray…